Thursday, September 13, 2012

Oceanside Rides Grand Prix Wave

The USPTA Florida Fast-Dry & 10-S Supply 2012 Grand Prix
Circuit stop at OceansideCountry
Club in Ormond Beach was certainly worth the four hour trip across the State,
despite my humbling loss in the final to Greg Wheaton, whom I must call my
nemesis after three consecutive losses. It had been a while since we played,
and it was good to see Greg back out on the court.

That’s one of the tremendous positives about playing the
Grand Prix: you get to rekindle old rivalries as well as friendships at these
events. I hadn’t seen Denny Rager play singles in some time, despite the fact
that we live only a few miles apart. I saw Steve Shortridge, another
neighboring pro, look like he was just about out of gas against Vishnu Maharaj.
Shortridge out of gas? Surely that’s worth a trip across the State!

Barbara Manne & Steve Shortridge

All kidding aside, the venue, as usual was terrific. Mike
Sanders, his staff, and the always-smiling volunteers at Oceanside did the
usual bang-up job that the directors and staffs usually do at the Grand Prix
stops. Despite the weather, the courts were as playable as any I’ve encountered
this season, and the venue was only about a mile, if that, from the beach. It
was a good combination.

Jeff Cohen & Jim Bryan

Although I missed playing the Pro-Am (click
herefor photos), it was still one of the highlights of the event for me.
Watching the members revel in the on-court interaction with USPTA
professionals, most of whom appear just as thrilled as the members, is really a
good time for someone who enjoys our game as much as I do. Hopefully the
participants enjoyed it as much as they seemed to.

Milos Vasovic & Mike Sanders

Before moving on to the tournament results, I need to
acknowledge and thank the event sponsors on behalf of all the USPTA
professionals who participated, Mike Sanders and his staff, and the members,
some of whom were also sponsors, who participated. A number of local sponsors
contributed to the Circuit stop, in addition to the usual sponsors that make
the circuit possible: Fast-Dry Courts, 10-S Supply, USTA Florida, Welch Tennis,
Stan Oley Tennis Equipment, and The Wimbledon Experience.

Generous Sponsors

The list of businesses and individuals who contributed to
making the Oceanside stop a success is far too long to layout here, but
Platinum Sponsor, S. R. Perrott, Inc. and Gold Sponsor, Mr. Wich Deli, along
with Silver Sponsors Joe and Lisa Mirante, Daytona Foot and Ankle Specialists,
Gamma High Voltage, and Daytona Mitsubishi-Kia are among the biggest
contributors to the event’s success.

Paolo Barros & Joe Mirante

Asked about his three-year involvement as a sponsor for the
Oceanside Grand Prix venue, Joe Mirante replied, “The USTPA event has been a great event for Oceanside. It's
thrilling to be an intimate observer of professional tennis. What's even better
than observing the pro's skills is to enjoy their love of the game and generous
teaching in the pro-am and clinics. I will continue to be an enthusiastic
sponsor of the event. Our pro Mike Sanders has done our club a great service in
orchestrating this tournament.” With committed members like the
Mirantes, the Oceanside event is likely to be a mainstay on the circuit for
some time to come.

Tourney Results

Men’s Open

Julien Link (Champ) & Alex Henderson (Finalist)

Winner of the Men’s Open, Julien Link, loves to hit tennis
balls and I think he loves to grind opponents into the dirt. He did precisely
that to Alex Henderson in the final, after wearing down James Roesch, his
previous opponent. Link moved into third place in the Grand Prix standings,
behind Eric Turnquist (1) and Paolo Barros (2). Neither Turnquist nor Barros played
singles, but Barros did play doubles, losing in the semis to Denny Rager and
Milos Vasovic. Rager and Vasovic faced
Link and Kuchta in the Open Doubles final, but the match was called due to rain
after sets were split.

Men’s 35s

Kam Kuchta (Finalist) & Milos Vasovic (Champ)

Speaking of Milos Vasovic, he was the Grand Prix
points-leader of the Men’s 35s, coming in to the event, and he left with an
even greater lead over Kam Kuchta, the player in second place in the Division. The
two played in the final, and Kam got the early break in the first set, but
Milos fought back to even things up. Milos eventually won two grueling
tiebreaks to claim the win. Already holding a 200-point lead in the Division, Milos’
victory padded his lead by another 60 points. He will be tough to catch the
rest of the way.

Men’s 45s & 40s

Jack Steyn (Finalist) &Jeff Cohen (Champ)

Jeff Cohen, who was sitting in second place in the Men’s 45s
prior to the event, returned to action and resumed his winning ways, downing Jack
Steyn and Stan Oley in round robin action to bag another Grand Prix
championship. Cohen moved into first place in the standings, ahead of Horacio
Rearte, who did not play. There were no 45s Doubles, but Brad Minns and Stan
Oley downed Michael Sanders and John Hudson, 6-2, 6-2, to win the 40s Doubles.

Men’s 50s

After a hiatus from the Grand Prix Circuit, Greg Wheaton
returned to the courts and knocked off Men’s 50 Grand Prix points-leader T. A.
Niles in a third-set super-tiebreak. After winning the first set 6-3, Wheaton lost
the second 2-6, but came back to win 10-7 after being down 5-7 in the breaker. Despite
having played just the one event, Wheaton’s win moves him into second place in
the rankings. Wheaton teamed with Dave Cordrey to claim the doubles title as
well, downing Arup Dutta and I, 6-1, 6-2. I definitely owe Arup one for my odious performance in that one! Sorry Arup.

Men’s 60s

Gewan (Champ) & Vishnu (Finalist) Maharaj

Gewan Maharaj continued his domination of the Men’s 60s, but
despite Gewan’s event win, his finals opponent, brother Vishnu Maharaj, is in
line for major kudos. Vishnu, who hasn’t played a Grand Prix event in some
time, won his first two matches in third-set super-tiebreaks, and then took
Gewan to a tiebreak in the first set of the final. With his win, Gewan extended
his points lead over Steve Shortridge, who climbed in the standings to second-place
by virtue of his semifinal finish.

The only women’s event held was Women’s 45s Singles, and
Carolyn Franca took advantage of the absence of the higher ranked players in
the Division and some gutty play in her matches to take over the Division lead.
Franca survived a tough test against Elizabeth Burger, winning 4-6, 6-1, 1-0,
and cruised against Michelle Maharaj, 6-1, 6-0. The win moves Franca 30 points
ahead of Julie Farina, the former points-leader.

Mixed Doubles

Gewan Maharaj & Carolyn Franca (Champs)

Franca also teamed with Gewan Maharaj to complete the double
for them both, by winning the 40s Mixed event. Franca and Maharaj faced
Elizabeth Burger and Dru Ackert in the final, winning 6-4, 6-0.

Next Grand Prix Stop

The Next stop on the USPTA Florida Fast-Dry & 10-S Supply
2012 Grand Prix Circuit will be at The Landings Yacht, Golf & Tennis Club
in Fort Myers, October 19 - 21. Landings Tennis Director Paul D’Amico and his
staff did a smoking job of hosting the Florida Open, (a national junior event)
this summer, and I suspect the same will apply to the Grand Prix stop.

Host-A-Pro Program

To make things as easy and inviting as possible for USPTA
pros around the State to play if they have any interest, USPTA District 14
professionals are initiating a “Host-A-Pro” program. Players who are interested
in being hosted by a local professional or tennis aficionado should contact T.
A. Niles at taniles13@gmail.com or
407-466-4652. Hope to see you there!

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